The present invention relates to a stripping device and has particular application as a portable, hand-held device for use in easily stripping a protective material from electrical wiring or fiber optic strands that are normally difficult to penetrate or strip.
Devices for use in the stripping of protective material from certain kinds of electrical wire or fiber optic strands have been known heretofore, although such devices have not been entirely satisfactory in the stripping of protective material of certain kinds of fiber optics that have included arrays of strand. In such arrays, the fiber optic strands are located in side-by-side relation, each strand of the array having a protective material applied thereto. In addition, a plastic tape or ribbon material is applied over the fiber optic strands to secure the strands in a unitary assembly.
Although various techniques and devices have been proposed for stripping such fiber optic arrays, none of them have been satisfactory for commercial use and have been particularly deficient in successfully penetrating both the tape material overlaying the fiber optic strands and the protective material of each strand in the array. Prior known efforts to resolve the problem of stripping of such fiber optic strand arrays have included the application of heat to the stripping blades, but these prior known thermal devices have not been able to control the amount of heat applied to the array since the stripping blades of the device were heated; and not only have these devices been unsuccessful in stripping the coating from the fiber optic strands, but since they normally applied heat to the blade members, charring of the protective material occurred which resulted in a messy adhesive that could not be easily stripped, or the stripping scored the strands or in some way impaired the transmission quality of the strands which was completely unsatisfactory for the intended use thereof.
As will be described herein, the subject invention performs a stripping operation in a precise manner for the purpose intended and represents a distinct improvement over those devices known heretofore for the stripping of fiber optic strands and/or insulated wire.